This maple orange roasted eggplant is sweet, a bit crunchy on the outside and way better than the normal eggplant mush.
To sum up my feelings on eggplant, I’d best describe it as an abusive relationship.
I keep giving it a second chance (it’s had about 30 years of second chances) only to be beaten down with it’s mushy texture and blah taste yet again.
Thankfully, this pathetic pushover part of me seems to only express itself with food and not real life.
But, if I wasn’t a pushover, I wouldn’t have discovered this insanely delicious maple roasted eggplant with hints of orange.
Sweet maple, tangy orange, caramelized little crunchy cubes of eggplant. It’s side dish perfection.
And now I’m convinced that there are two very important factors in making eggplant actually taste good:
1. cutting it small enough so that it gets crispy and there’s not too much of the spongy mush factor in each piece.
2. dousing it with something so delicious you’re tempted to drink the dressing.
In my air fryer eggplant recipe I also take the time to salt the eggplant before air frying.
You could do the same with this oven method. It really helps draw out the moisture and make things extra crispy!
I consider this recipe the start of seeing a really good therapist.
The relationship is not out of the woods, but we’re getting there.
MORE EGGPLANT RECIPES TO TRY:
Cheesy chicken stuffed eggplant
Sweet and Crunchy Maple Orange Roasted Eggplant
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- salt & pepper
- fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a baking sheet.
- Combine olive oil, maple syrup, orange juice, coriander and salt & pepper in a small bowl and whisk together.
- Place chopped eggplant in a large bowl and pour all but 1 tablespoon of the dressing on top. Mix until each piece is well coated and spread out onto baking pan in a single even layer.
- Sprinkle with some more salt & pepper to taste and roast for 25 minutes flipping once half way through.
- Remove from oven, transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle remaining dressing on top.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
We loved this! Our garden has produced bountiful eggplant this year, and I’m happy to have found another recipe to use them in. Wonderful taste and texture.
Tried this recipe and it does not taste good at all
Maple and orange is one of my favourite combos for marinating meat, but I would have never thought to combine this with eggplant. Delicious!
I’ve never seen eggplant prepared this way before, and it looks delicious! I’m with you- eggplant can either be really good or really bad, depending on how it’s prepared. I’m excited to try this recipe!
Wow this is perfect for me! Only 30 minutes to prepare and cook. But instead of baking, can I fry it? Would it taste different?
I actually am a big fan of eggplant and eat it on the reg. I made this recipe but swapped the maple syrup for balsamic vinegar and then tossed it with chopped cucumber and avocado when it was done baking. Yum!
This looks so delicious! I actually love eggplant but this takes it over the top!